An internal U.S. government analysis has found no evidence that the Palestinian group Hamas systematically stole U.S.-funded humanitarian aid in Gaza, directly challenging a central justification behind a newly proposed armed private aid delivery initiative supported by both the U.S. and Israel. According to Al Jazeera, the previously unreported assessment was conducted by a bureau within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and completed in late June. It reviewed 156 incidents of theft or loss involving U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies, as reported by aid partner organizati

An internal U.S. government analysis has found no evidence that the Palestinian group Hamas systematically stole U.S.-funded humanitarian aid in Gaza, directly challenging a central justification behind a newly proposed armed private aid delivery initiative supported by both the U.S. and Israel. According to Al Jazeera, the previously unreported assessment was conducted by a bureau within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and completed in late June. It reviewed 156 incidents of theft or loss involving U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies, as reported by aid partner organizations operating in Gaza between October 2023 and May 2024. According to a slide presentation of the findings reviewed by Reuters, the analysis concluded that there were “no reports alleging Hamas” benefited from any of the U.S.-funded aid. Two sources familiar with the report confirmed the findings had been shared with USAID’s inspector general and senior State Department officials involved in Middle East policy discussions. The USAID report comes amid worsening food shortages and a deepening humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. The absence of evidence supporting claims of aid diversion may cast doubt on arguments made by Israeli officials and some within the U.S. government that Hamas has exploited humanitarian channels for its own benefit.

Journalist Death Toll in Gaza Rises to 232

In a separate development, Gaza’s Government Media Office has reported the death of photojournalist Adam Abu Harbid, bringing the number of journalists killed during Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza to 232. In a statement issued overnight via Telegram, the office strongly condemned what it described as the “systematic targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists” by Israeli forces. “The Government Media Office condemns in the strongest terms the systematic targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists by the ‘Israeli’ occupation,” the statement read. It called on the International Federation of Journalists, the Federation of Arab Journalists, and all global journalistic institutions to denounce what it referred to as “systematic crimes against Palestinian journalists and media professionals in the Gaza Strip.”

A little more informed. A little more connected.